Lavender – A Mature Bishop Short Story by Eboni

Warning 18+ Content

 

Those with an ignorant mind would think that the greatest thrill, the most cherished event in the Dragonborn’s life would be the fall of The World-Eater. But that was in no way close to the biggest moment in her years, nor was it ending the war, or vanquishing Miraak. No, it was not just one event, but a chain of them that led her to where she was presently.

 

Steam rose from the warm water that caressed her sun-kissed skin, easing her mind and muscles all together. She sat in a wooden tub, the scent of lavender subtly danced in the air, and the fireplace gently crackled beyond the divider that separated her from the rest of the cottage interior. Rain could be heard patting the roof of her cozy home, only relaxing her further. It was not long until dinner had to be prepared, for it was that time of day where the sun slowly tucked itself behind Skyrim’s towering mountains. She was clearly in a blissful state, her blue eyes shut as she rested her slender fingers on her swollen stomach. She was with child, for a total of twenty weeks now; her belly had a soft curve to it, but she was not yet fully rounded.

 

Large calloused hands intertwined with hers and she felt a soft sigh hit the back of her neck. Her husband, and father of her unborn child, Bishop sat directly behind her in the bath, his gaze trained on the bump of her stomach. She turned her head a tad to look at his features for a moment; he was at peace.

 

She knew that when they first met, he had no intention of falling in love, and certainly not getting married, or starting a family. He was – is a stubborn, cocky asshole, that she loved with all her heart. He was a pain, but he was sweet in his own way, he cared. No matter how much he denied it, he was a loyal and generous man.

 

Bishop placed his chin on her shoulder, part of his face hidden in her honey brown locks. She guessed that he was in his own thoughts, perhaps thinking about what led up to all this.

 

“Bishop” her quiet voice broke the silence between them in a subtle manner.

 

“Hm?” he hummed in response, showing his head was back in reality. He unlaced his fingers from hers to freely graze his hands over her belly. She noticed that once it was made clear she was pregnant, Bishop became very gentle and protective. At times she found it annoying, but clearly understood his reasoning.

 

“Do you remember… when you said I wasn’t your type?” her voice dripped thickly with smugness and confidence. Bishop could practically see her ego growing, making him roll his eyes, knowing well where this question would lead them.

 

“Didn’t you ask me this last week, ladyship?” he lifted his head from her shoulder and slowly moved just the pads of his fingers along her plump belly.

 

“Perhaps… Doesn’t mean I don’t want to hear the answer again” she admitted, turning her body just enough for her to look at him face to face, resting her weight on her hip and stabilizing herself by placing her hands on his chest. The water shifted slightly with her movements, the liquid sloshing around in the tub quietly. His brown hair was not in its usual upright position, due to it being wet from their time in the bath, washing up. Bishop’s mouth formed what looked to be a half smirk, his eyes hooded. He simply emitted a soft ‘tsk’ and shook his head before he traced his moist hand on her jawline.

 

“Yes, I remember” he answered her, brushing her bottom lip with his thumb. His gaze moved from her lips to lock eyes with his wife. She tried to hold back a mischievous smile, but it displayed easily on her pink lips.

 

“And?” she mused, wanting him to add on a certain part to his sentence; a part she so loved. He rolled his eyes for the second time that evening and growled lowly at her teasing tone.

 

“And, I was wrong… wench” he muttered the little comment he had, earning himself a playful smack on the chest. He chuckled at her form of discipline and pressed his lips against hers to keep her from scolding him. His plan worked, she responded by leaning into the kiss, a hum of bliss leaving her. Bishop used one hand to keep her safely propped up and glided the other over her bare hip that just barely peeked out of the water. He rubbed her skin slowly, moving up and down her waist and hips; she possessed such a divine curve that would gain the eye of many red blooded men. Bishop was relieved he no longer needed to try and claim her, she was his now. But that didn’t mean he didn’t have to educate some foolish boys from time to time on who had the dragon’s heart.

 

While in his thoughts, he subconsciously brought his free hand to one of her breasts, though he was gentle in his touching. He was aware she was feeling tender and her bust was growing. He didn’t plan to be rough with her chest, he only acted with light caresses. She pulled away from the kiss for a moment to hiss softly at the feeling, but pleasure overcame the soreness. He moved to gently kiss the valley between her mountains, causing her to shift closer to encourage his actions. She shuddered at the feeling his kisses gave that rocked her very being. He groaned when she dragged her hand over his length, noticing the glimmer in her sapphire eyes. He returned the gesture by brushing his middle finger lightly against the lips that rested in the middle of her squirming legs. Her jaw and thighs clenched closed momentarily and she glared at him, biting back a smile. He chuckled at her expression and removed his hand from its spot. He gave her forehead a chaste kiss and made her sit the way she had been before. Carefully he got out of the tub, grabbing a towel that was draped over the wooden divider and using it to rid his hair of water. The Dragonborn took this chance to admire his physique, observing him as he dried off, though her favorite view was blocked when he wrapped the towel around his waist. He bent forward, placed his hand on the back of her head and gave her a kiss before standing up straight.

 

“Stay and soak for a little longer, I’ll get started on dinner,” He said with a slight smile as his eyes went over her body for a brief moment, stopping at his child’s current home. He looked back up to her eyes, seeing a smile graced her face. “We can continue what you started later” he sent a wink her way before he walked away to get dressed. He heard her chuckle as he left, making his grin grow a bit more.

 

Not long after he left the bath, the Dragonborn noted the sounds transferring through the divider from where they cooked their meals. From what she could tell, Bishop had set up the kettle over the fire, so she guessed he was planning for a soup or stew. She sunk into the warm water more, letting it take over her shoulders. Sighing happily, she felt the water weight down her hair as it soaked it. Her eyelids fell and she focused on the sounds around her, her mind drifting off.

 

Every night, she found herself praying to the gods she wasn’t possibly dreaming, that all this was happening. Meeting him, bonding with him with every step on those dirt paths and ruin halls, becoming so much more than just lovers. It was amazing to her. He was such a hard and emotionally distant man when they first came across each other and – even though Bishop hates to admit it – he was a much sweeter, but still has his usual cocky attitude.

 

Her eyes shot open when she felt a large hand gently squeeze her shoulder. She looked up to gaze upon her husband smiling softly at her.

 

“I don’t know how long you planned on staying in here. But you’ve been in here for sometime, ladyship, you’re going to start getting pruney.” Bishop said as he took the clean towel he had draped over his arm and opened it up wide, ready to wrap her up. She smiled up at him and rose from the water cautiously with a little help from Bishop after he wrapped her up. He helped her step out of the tub and began assisting her in drying her body. The towel was warm, unexpectedly warm. She had a good guess that he sat the towel near the fireplace before he came to get her, which the idea of that made her smile uncontrollably.

 

Her eyes catch his as she wrapped the warm cloth securely around her body, causing the smile to grow on her face. Bishop seemed to be in a state of euphoria as he cupped the back of her head and pressed his lips to her forehead, such a sweet gesture that would have been one of the last things he would do before he met her.

 

“Do you need help getting dressed?” Bishop asked, releasing her and following her as she walked around to the other side of the divider.

 

“No, I’ll be fine. A dress isn’t that much trouble to pull over my head” she replied, softly laughing. She picked up the dress that was folded on the bed and held it up to look at it. A deep blue to match her eyes. “No need to fuss over me, Bishop. I’m still capable of many things, even in this state”

 

Bishop chuckled quietly to himself before he left her alone to get dressed, heading back to watch over the stew that simmered over the fire. The Dragonborn smiled as she observed him walking to the kettle. She removed the towel from around her body and pulled the gown over her head, straightening out the skirt neatly. She pulled her hair out of the back of the dress and picked up her towel that she had laid on the bed. She used it to squeeze the wetness from her locks of clean light brown hair. As she did so, she sat on the bed, humming to herself.

 

When her hair felt dry enough, she picked up a brush from the nightstand and dragged it gently through her soft tresses. Guard down completely, she was met with a surprise that made her jump slightly in her seated position. Something wet and warm tickled at her feet. She stood from the bed and turned around to see Karnwyr’s head peeking out from under the bed. The wolf looked up at her, happiness shining in his eyes. The thumping of his tail sounded from under the bed as he wiggled out from under it. The Dragonborn sighed a breath of relief while she sat back down on the bed. Karnwyr escaped from under the furniture and jumped onto it to sit next to her.

 

“Karnwyr, what on Nirn were you doing under the bed?” she inquired as she scratched behind his ear. His tongue hung out and his eyes shut in response to her petting, making her giggle. Of course she did not expect him to answer her question, but she got used to treating him like he was more than a pet. He was family.

 

Her hand left his head and she got back to work on brushing her hair. Karnwyr draped his front legs over her lap and subtly sniffed at her abdomen. He knew what was growing within her, he knew she was pregnant. And just like Bishop, he became more protective over the Dragonborn.

 

A sigh left the brunette as she placed the brush back on the nightstand. She moved Karnwyr’s legs from her lap and stood, dusting the skirt of her dress off before she walked to join Bishop by the kettle. Karnwyr accompanied them soon after, laying down under the table to keep out of the way.

 

The Dragonborn peered around Bishop to take a look into the pot. Inside the pot that Bishop was stirring swirled beef stew; it smelled wonderful. “Do you want to have a taste, you’re eyeing it pretty hard, Princess” Bishop quipped proudly as he picked up a spoon and offered it to her. The Dragonborn gladly took it and  dipped it into the stew, pulling out a spoonful of the contents. She brought it close to her lips, blowing on it before she took it into her mouth. After a moment of chewing, she swallowed and nodded towards Bishop with a hum.

 

“It’s very good. Did you experiment with some new herbs?” she asked, getting a nod from him as a reply. He took the spoon from her before she could attempt to get another spoonful – which she was about to do – and picked up a bowl. Carefully he added stew into the bowl and set it aside, grabbing another one. The Dragonborn decided not to just stand there and began to set the table for supper.

 

Bishop sat a bowl of only beef chunks on the floor for Karnwyr, then sat the two bowls of stew onto the table. Dinner was never a very talk-heavy event for the two, it was calm, quiet for the most part. They only spoke if there was something they needed to speak about or if there was a quick comment on mind; otherwise, they were rather silent. They did not want to force a conversation, for it would only create tension.

 

For a legendary hero and ranger, this is not the scene most people of Skyrim would think they would be in. But people have a hard time looking at things from a different angle.

 

When their spoons only hit the bottom of their bowls and nothing else, Bishop picked up the dishes before the Dragonborn could protest and claim she could do it herself. She sighed with a soft smile and looked out the window, gazing at the rain that fell from the sky. She lifted her hand and pushed back hair that had fell in front of her face, tucking it behind her ear. Bishop came to stand next to her, staring out the window with her. He did miss the adventure and feeling of his adrenaline pumping, but there was a sense of  satisfaction he got from what he has done to get them were they are now.

 

“Sweetness” Bishop said without looking at the Dragonborn. She continued to look out the window.

 

“Hm?”

 

“We still need to finish what you started in the tub” She smiled and looked up at him from her seat, locking eyes with him. He offered his hand to her to which she rested her palm in his. He helped her to her feet before they made their way to the bed.

 

An array of giggling and chuckling came from where they resided, followed by the sound of sweet kisses. Yes, it was a chain of events she treasured so, and as days pass, one of her biggest moments will be that much closer. Be it the doing of the nine, eight, or other forces, she was blessed, and she was eternally grateful.

Featured Screenshot by Crimson